David Allan Coe, the outlaw country icon behind classics like “You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” has died at 86.
His passing was confirmed by Rolling Stone on Wednesday, April 29, though no cause of death had been announced at the time.
Born on September 6, 1939, in Akron, Ohio, Coe’s early life was anything but conventional. He spent much of his youth in and out of correctional facilities, experiences that would later shape the rebellious, outsider image that defined both his life and his music.
His musical style blended elements of blues, rock, and country, and his voice was often described as a deep, raspy baritone.
When he arrived in Nashville in 1967, success didn’t come overnight — but it came. Coe first made waves as a songwriter, landing a major hit when Tanya Tucker took “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)” to No. 1 in 1973.
David Allan Coe (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
That breakthrough opened doors, earning him a deal with Columbia Records.
By 1974, Coe stepped fully into the spotlight with his debut album The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy. A year later, his album Once Upon a Rhyme delivered what would become his signature song: “You Never Even Called Me by My Name.” The track, filled with humor and self-awareness, famously includes the spoken line where Coe calls it “the perfect country and western song.”
